Biker Sam’s Guardian Angel
Sam was a biker through and through. Little did he know that his passion for biking would lead to a horrible accident that would land him in the hospital in a coma for six months. When his eyes finally opened, he would be drowning in debt, the result of his lengthy stay and the specialized care that was required. His bill was $270,000. There was no way he could afford to pay unless he liquidated his home, his motorcycle, just about everything.
Mary was the new Medicare financial case worker in the hospital. She had the unenviable task of informing Sam that he was not eligible for any benefits. The previous case worker had made this decision early on during Sam’s coma. It now fell to Mary to deliver the bad news. It was not received gracefully. The stream of verbal abuse directed at Mary was withering. Nevertheless, she understood Sam’s hopeless position as it spelled his financial ruin.
Following this encounter, God placed mercy on Mary’s heart as she absorbed the fullness of Sam’s predicament. She threw herself into researching Sam’s case and ultimately fell upon additional data she believed would make Sam eligible for benefits. Her supervisor was not similarly moved. She ruled that the new data was not strong enough to reverse the original decision...and besides… the case was too old to reopen. With mercy still on Mary’s heart, she prayed for a way to somehow overcome her supervisor’s “No.”
Not only an employee, but also a hospital board member, Mary had cultivated a working relationship with the organization’s President. She arranged a meeting with him and introduced Sam’s case with the information she had discovered. On the basis of these new findings his decision was immediate. He instructed Mary to…”write off that debt and use our financial assistance program to help him get back on his feet.” Mary was inwardly jubilant. The Holy Spirit had placed mercy on her heart and put her in a position to obey His promptings. Mary welcomed the outcome certainly with joy, but not at all with surprise!
Mary carried her joy to the telephone, enthusiastically greeting Sam with, “Sweetheart, I have wonderful news for you!” “First of all, you aren’t my sweetheart,” he grumbled, but as the conversation went on; he soon would change his tune. His $270,000 debt was canceled, and hospital initiated financial assistance was unexpectedly coming his way. Sam was overwhelmed, not only by these monetary benefits, but by the kindness extended to him by Mary despite his consistently rude treatment of her.
By the end of the conversation the biker had completely softened. He ended the conversation saying, “You’re not a sweetheart, you’re the only sweetheart I’ve had in my life.”
Mary now says, “Praise God for this outcome. Years have passed, and I never heard from Sam again, but I continue to pray for him every day.”